SONG OF THE WATER BOATMAN AND OTHER POND POEMS

SONG OF THE WATER BOATMAN AND OTHER POND POEMS
by Joyce Sidman

Illustrated by Beckie Prange

Image credit: www.joycesidman.com/book

Bibliography:

Sidman, Joyce. 2005. Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems. Ill. by Beckie Prange. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 9780618135479

Critical Analysis and Review:

This Caldecott Honor book is a thematic collection of poetry all about the plants, animals, and insects that reside in ponds. Each of the eleven poems explores a different pond dweller such as the wood duck, the caddis fly, and cattails.  In addition to the wonderful variety of poems, this book also contains a great deal of science content related to pond life.  

This book begins with "Listen for Me," a poem about the spring peepers which are tiny frogs that trill through the night announcing the arrival of spring.  The celebration of wildlife continues as the baby ducks hatch in "Spring Splashdown."  Poems about a beetle, dragon fly and the food chain follow.  Finally, in "Into the Mud," the painted turtle burrows into a muddy hole below the pond to hibernate for winter.  

Beckie Prange paints unique illustrations for each poem using woodblock that is hand-colored with watercolors.  The bold lines of the woodblock create a contrast against the airy lightness of the pastel watercolors.  A notable illustration is the heron swooping in from above as he "spears the fish" in "In the Depths of the Summer Pond."  Prange plays with perspective showing, at times, a cross-section of the pond, or a bird's eye view, or a zoomed-in close up like in "Travel Time" depicting the tiny water bear. 

This poetry collection is a must-have for science lovers who appreciate poetry.  This book includes a Glossary defining the scientific terms.

Spotlight Poem:

LISTEN FOR ME

by Joyce Sidman

Listen for me on a spring night, 

on a wet night,

on a rainy night.

Listen for me on a still night,

for in the night, I sing.

That is when my heart thaws,

my skin thaws,

my hunger thaws.

That is when the world thaws,

and the air begins to ring.

I creep up from the cold pond,

the ice pond, 

the winter pond,

I creep up from the chill pond,

to breathe the warming air.

I cling to the green reeds,

the damp reeds,

the muddy reeds,

I cling to the slim reeds;

my brothers are everywhere.

My throat swells with spring love,

with rain love,

with water love,

My throat swells with peeper love;

my song is high and sweet.

Listen for me on a spring night,

on a wet night,

on a rainy night.

Listen for me tonight, tonight,

and I'll sing you to sleep.

The opening poem in the collection is an excellent example of Sidman's amazing artistry as a wordsmith. In this poem, she describes the tree frog's emergence from its winter freeze as it comes back to life in the spring as one of the noisiest pond dwellers.  The repetition of one word in each stanza is remarkable as it gives a theme to each part of the poem.  Also, the repetition of the first and fourth line in each stanza creates a nice rhythm.  Sidman is a master of well-placed repetition.  The last line of the poem is especially peaceful as it states, "Listen for me tonight, tonight,/ and I'll sing you to sleep."  Love that line!

I would use Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems as a poetry break with second grade classes because they take a field trip to a pond each spring to explore the wildlife there.  Each poem in this collection could be applicable to their pond study, especially "Listen for Me" and "In the Depths of the Summer Pond" which describes the pond habitat's food chain.  This poem "Listen for Me" could be read aloud in a performance in which six groups could read each stanza.  I think using the "groups" strategy would make this poem come alive for readers.